Hydrogen fluoride (HF) and deteurium fluoride (DF) lasers have been demonstrated by various techniques. Perhaps the most widely used method of perfecting the conditions for HF or DF lasing employs a pre-combustor for forming excited fluorine atoms which are admitted into a laser cavity along with an excess of hydrogen or deteurium at a predetermined pressure and concentration to cause HF or DF to be formed in an excited vibrational state which subsequently lases. The high temperature causes a highly corrosive state to exist in the pre-combustor, the laser cavity, and the mechanical pumping or chemical pumping system.
Considerable efforts have been expended in experiments wherein premixing of fluorine and hydrogen gases is accomplished at room temperature; however, even at room temperature, fluorine gas and hydrogen gas are reactive, although the reaction is slow, sufficient HF is formed to deactivate any lasing action. The advantages of lasing at room temperature after meeting the requirements of obtaining homogeneity of the premixed reactant gases for HF or DF lasing have not been fully achieved because of the deactivation species present in the laser cavity. Thus, a chemical laser system which is troubled with deactivation species does not have the performance requirements needed for an efficient, operable system.
Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide an admixture which can be premixed at room temperature after proper conditioning of the system which is not reactive until the admixture is irradiated with a CO.sub.2 laser thereby causing a dissociation reaction.
A further object of this invention is to provide a chemical HF or DF laser that is obtained by irradiating a mixture of COF.sub.2 +H.sub.2 /D.sub.2 in a laser cavity which effects the dissociation of COF.sub.2 to produce F-atoms in an excited state which subsequently reacts with the H.sub.2 /D.sub.2 present to produce HF or DF in an excited vibrational state which lases.